Bitter Rice

A compassionate account of how troubled teens tough it out in a Chinese juvenile reform school

Bitter Rice There's no way out - your every move is being watched and to survive your loyalty must be to the system, not to your friends. This isn't an Orwellian nightmare, it's the Peach Reform School. Filming inside the school for over a year, this intimate doc gets under the skin of China's extreme juvenile correctional establishments for the first time. From terrified 11-year-old Wenjun, to teenage secret lovers, Lei-gong and Chanjuan, and the rough but conflicted school instructor, Zhou Hai; intimate access to these characters reveals how everyone is a victim in a system that sets love and friendship against obedience and order.
Bitter Rice (2024) on IMDb

Festivals and Awards
Laurel Taiwan International Documentary Festival | Official Selection

The Producers


Chunhua Jiang – Director

Chunhua Jiang graduated from National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, majoring in Film Directing. In 2014, he finished a short documentary named Funeral and in 2015, a narrative short Kite. Bitter Rice is Chunhua’s feature documentary debut.

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